Functioning in the midst of not only a densely populated but also a highly industrialised part of Chennai, the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital is the place where most people, especially industrial labourers, turn to for treatment of hand injuries.
To cater to the constant flow of patients with hand injuries, the hospital has been running a round-the-clock emergency service and has a separate operation theatre to take up reconstruction surgeries within six hours.
The hospital’s Institute for Research and Rehabilitation of Hand and Department of Plastic Surgery is known for its hand injury services. On an average, it handles more than 3,000 cases of hand injuries a month. These include outpatients, in-patients, emergencies, and elective procedures, says S. Sridevi, professor and head of the department.
Industrial crush injuries
“The majority of the hand injuries that we see are the result of industrial accidents. Injuries from household accidents, road traffic accidents, and assaults are among the other commonly seen cases. As this is an industrial belt, we see a lot of industrial crush injuries involving the hands,” she says.
In household accidents, doctors see hand injuries involving blenders as well as children with door crush injuries. During summer, vendors selling sugar cane juices land up with crush injuries from the sugar cane crushers.
Hand, she says, is an organ of function, and plays an important role in daily life. “Treating a hand injury is an intricate job. It requires persons with specialised skills to treat hand injuries,” Dr. Sridevi notes.
P. Balaji, Dean of the hospital, says, “Patients from all over Tamil Nadu and neighbouring States get referred to the department. Since many industries are located in north Chennai, industrial accidents are in plenty and patients get treated here.”
Separate operation theatre
Explaining about the emergency services for hand injuries, Dr. Sridevi says an assistant professor, along with six residents, is on duty 24x7 on all 365 days. “As far as Stanley Hospital is concerned, hand injury patients requiring emergency care do not go into the general pool but come to the separate emergency unit. We have a separate operation theatre for the purpose. Through this, we immediately attend to patients and take up surgeries within six hours,” she says.
Apart from emergencies, the department performs elective procedures for congenital anomalies. “A total of 1,012 procedures, emergency as well as elective, were performed in April alone,” she says. “Prevention is better than cure. People working in industries should take precautionary measures, including the use of protective gear,” she stresses.
The hospital requests the industrial houses to come forward to augment the infrastructure of the department that caters to the labourers of the State, according to Dr. Balaji.
